Kennedy: Not Backing Anyone For Governor Yet

U.S. Senator John Kennedy says he hasn’t picked horse in the 2019 governor’s race yet. That’s after he bowed out of the competition early this month, citing his desire to continue serving his Senate term that runs through 2022. Currently, businessman Eddie Rispone and Congressman Ralph Abraham are the only Republicans in the race, but Kennedy says don’t be shocked if the field gets more crowded.

“I’m not completely sure that the field is set. I’m not suggesting, and I don’t want you to read into that, that I know somebody else who is going to run. But I think competition makes all of us better. It’s a moral good.”

Kennedy says he hasn’t spoken to Rispone yet, but Abraham gave him a call the night before he announced he was joining the race. Analysts have noted that the state rarely elects governors from the northern parishes, but Kennedy isn’t buying that.

“I told him, 'Look, go get him. You’re going to have a lot of experts telling you why you can’t do it. Just ignore them. None of them have run a race in their natural lives.'”

Those analysts note that northern politicians have difficulty with name recognition in the more densely populated south.

No matter which Republican makes the run-off, Kennedy says they’ll have his support against the only Democratic governor in an SEC state, Governor John Bel Edwards.

“My attitude is, frankly, we have nowhere to go but up. You know my feelings about Governor Edwards. It’s not personal. I just think he’s driven Louisiana into a ditch.”